Ohio State Buckeyes' Defensive Line Trending Upward

The Ohio State Buckeyes defensive line hard arguably its most complete game of the season on Saturday when it mattered most.

Although there were struggles early in the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes defensive line has become quite the strength over the last two weeks. 

After the Maryland game, the Buckeyes ranked dead last in total sacks in the Big Ten. Since then, they have recorded seven sacks, including four against Penn State - as man as Nittany Lions QB Drew Allar had taken the entire season coming into the game.

Not to mention defensive line coach Justin Frye and his squad held the Lions to 49 yards on the ground, a season low for the Buckeyes. Penn State ranked No. 15 in rush offense in the country before this game.

Saturday's game seemed it would start on a downward trend as well — Penn State's third drive in the first quarter started with two, 15+ yard runs by sophomore back Nick Singleton, but the drive ended in a field goal.

After that drive, Penn State's running game was held largely in check, and the Bucks began to dominate things in the trenches. 

It was the performance of the season for the Buckeyes, and it could not have come at a better time. 

However, Ohio State has three solid ground offenses left on the slate this season, all of which rank in the top 45 nationally and top five in the conference, in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan.

Those three teams' top three backs — Braelon Allen, Darius Taylor, and Blake Corum, respectively — all rank in the top 35 in total rush yards, and each has put up at least 500 yards on the ground.

That said, if Ohio State can continue the dominance in the trenches they have displayed over the first seven weeks, in conjunction with their newfound success in the pass rush, they will be a very tough team to beat going forward.